On Equal Ground
by Stefxtastic
Summary: After the war many things in Konoha are uncertain, what is certain is that love can heal more than just a broken heart. KakashixSakura
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first go at writting fanfic so I would really appreciate reviews! Hope you enjoy the story as much as I am enjoying writting it!  
****Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Chapt. 1

After the fourth ninja war there was much to do for all five of the villages, families had been ripped apart, teams had been broken, lives had been lost. The bonds between the five hidden villages that had been started out of desperation were stronger now than ever, but that didn't mean that the outside world had suddenly become peaceful, or that the daimyos of those countries would stand for lasting peace between them and so ninja returned to their respective villages and began to rebuild wondering if and when the day would come when they would have to once again fight their comrades in the other villages.  
Back in Konoha, which had taken the most loss since it's ninja were the ones serving mainly on the front line, friends had clung to one another as the mass ceremony to celebrate the lives of their fallen comrades began. Tsunade had gotten choked up at the massive amount of names she had to read out and several times had to pause in order to regain her composer. When the fifth hokage had finally gotten to the last handful of names a blonde boy who was really more of a man bowed his head as tears silently fell down his cheeks. "…and finally, Neji Hyuuga", rang out from the hokage and the sobs from Neji's cousin Hinata were heard throughout the crowd. Naruto visibly tensed as his mind went to the crying Hyuuga. Somewhere towards the back of the crowd stood a women dressed in all black which was a stark contradiction to her startling natural pink hair. She held hands with her best friend who hand almost collapsed at the mention of her father on the list of the fallen. "It's okay to cry Ino, your father loved you very much and I am sure wherever he is now he is so proud of what you did to help us win the war." Ino had shrugged and turned her head into her best friends shoulder thankful for the comfort. Sakura stood there with an almost stoic expression on her face while trying her best to comfort her friend.  
After the ceremony had seemed to come to an end the Hokage had a few more announcements to make. "First off I would like to announce that Sauske Uchiha has been allowed to return to the village under the title of Jounin. This may come as a shock to some of you given the circumstances of his departure but rest assured that I have investigated this to the fullest and I have deemed that his actions taken to protect this village in the war outweigh his transgressions against the village before that. As such he is to be welcomed back into the village by all as if he had never left. Secondly, I would like to announce that in 1 months' time I will be retiring from the title of Hokage in order to focus more on my career as a medical shinobi. During the war we lost nearly 35% of our able force and so it is more important than ever that we focus on saving those who remain. As such the council and I have convened and we have come to the decision that Naruto Uzumaki will become the sixth Hokage!" at this the crowd cheered, even those who had been crying tears for the fallen could not help but smile at the thought that Naruto would finally become the Hokage. Sakura smiled at Naruto's obviously shocked expression, "at least he will finally shut up about becoming the Hokage" Sakura chuckled to no one in particular.  
Later that day Sakura found herself on her way to the Hokages office. As she walked through the doors she was slightly surprised to see her teammates all pilled into the office as well. Tsunade started, "Now that you are all here we can begin. We are here today to settle the matter of teams, as you know Naruto will be training with me for the next month so he can learn of the responsibilities that he will have as Hokage, this means that team seven will once again be short a member, Sauske will join back with team seven along with Sai, Kakashi, and Sakura. I understand that you are all jounin level shinobi now and are all equal so in order to decide who will take on the role of team leader I would like for the four of you to put it to a vote." This statement caused sideways glances from everyone in the room. "I would like to continue working under Kakashi-sensi" said Sai with just a hint of the smile he was finally learning to use. "I would like to vote for myself to be team captain." Sauske said this so quietly that had they not been listening intently none of the others in the room would have heard this. "My vote is also for Kakashi, no offense Sauske." This was said by the woman still in her black from the ceremony earlier. All eyes turned to Kakashi. "I am flattered that my teammates think so highly of my leadership skills that they would still like me to head the team even though we are now equals." This was said with his tell tale eye crinkle that they all had come to expect. Tsunade then spoke again "Well then it's settled, Kakashi is to remain team leader. Now that we have that out of the way it is time to assign you your first mission. With the war over many of the other villages are unsure if our truce still stands and what that means for their respective countries, your mission is to take this scroll to Suna and give it to the Kazekage, then you are to await his reply and promptly report back to me." "Uh, not to sound ungrateful, but I didn't decide to come back to the village to be sent on C-ranked messenger missions." "Sauske, first off this mission is A-ranked as the contients of this scroll will be instrumental in continuing our alliance with the Sand Village. Secondly, we _allowed_ you to return to the village because of your efforts in the war, but make no mistake you are not above any mission that you Hokage choses for you." Sauske seemed slightly uncomfortable at being reprimanded but he nodded his agreement. "Team seven you are to start your training immediately and leave for the Sand village in 4 days time. Dismissed!"  
The team was a bit unsteady as they made their way to the practice field. Kakashi looked at his team and made the decision that today would be a good day to try his old method of training once more. He spoke a little louder than normal letting them know he was addressing them all at once, "Since we are starting over essentially as a team, also the fact that while Sauske was a former teammate it has been many years since he was worked with Sakura and I and never worked with Sai I have decided to bring out the **bells**." This caused an audible grumble from Sakura and Sauske, while Sai had a puzzled look on his face. "Kakashi-sensei what are the bells and why do Ugly and Traitor grumble when you speak of them. "Hey I told you to quit calling me UGLY!" Sakura seemed like she was ready to rip Sai from limb to limb but a small chuckle escaped from Sauske which cause the kunoichi to stop in her tracks. _Did Sauske just laugh? _She thought to herself. Kakashi cleared his throat at the commotion and begain to explain the hated bells to Sai all the while not noticing the look that Sakura was giving the Uchiha. Sakura didn't know if she should smile at Sauske or slowly knack away from him. In all there years as a team, and since then she had never known him to laugh. As if reading her thoughts Sauske looked at her and shrugged his shoulder as if he couldn't understand why she looked so dumbfounded. Then he moved toward he and she couldn't breathe. "Sakura I just wanted to say a few things to you since we are alone. I know that I hurt you and to be honest at the time I did I didn't care about your feelings one bit, but I have changed since fighting beside you and Naruto and I want to make things right. I don't know if you can forgive me, but I am so sorry for the pain I caused you. I would like to make it up to you so I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner sometime. I had a lot of time to think about things over the last few months and I have decided it's past time for me to think about settling down." At this last declaration Sakura's mouth literally fell open. "Uh, are you asking me on a date?", "Yes, I am." At this the Uchiha did the last thing in the world that Sakura expected. He kissed her, hard. She was so startled that she didn't have time to react before she heard a throat clearing somewhere to he left. Kakashi did not like what he was seeing. Sauske had earned his respect when he decided to return and protect his village, but he had been there for the pink haired girl time and time again and the Uchiha and repeatedly ripped her heart out and stomped on it. The silver haired ninja could understand his reaction if it was purely that of a friend who wanted to protect someone they cared about, what he couldn't understand was why looking at the Uchiha kiss the woman had made him see red. What did he care if Sakura kissed someone she was in love with? What did he care indeed.

Kakashi POV  
After several hours the trio had finally managed to get the bells from their leader and he beamed with pride and Sakura was patching the broken arm she had given him moments before. This beautiful woman could strike fear into your heart one minute, and smile at you as she worked her magic healing hands the next. She sure had grown more beautiful with every passing year and she was certainly not the silly girl who pinned after one of her teammates. Kakashi found himself laughing at the memory of the pouty little girl who he had first met all those years ago. She had been one of the worst shinobi in the village and she knew it, but all she could think about was the dark haired man that she was so in love with. Then all of that changed when Sauske let the village and left the girl broken. It had taken several years for the girl to come to terms with that, but she had challenged herself to become stronger, and stronger she had become. Kakashi almost shuddered as memories of the war begain to enter his mind. Flashes of Saukra standing tall beside her former teammates as she gave every ounce of herself to protect her village and all of the world. He could remember now how proud he had been at his favorite student who was proving to her team and to the world that she was a force to be reckoned with. Standing there on the battle field with her pink tresses blowing in the breeze she looked like a warrior goddess. Then reality snapped as Kakashi realized that he was actually becoming aroused. "Where the hell did that come from?" he thought to himself. Sakura was his student turned teammate and was obviously still in love with Sauske. The thought made him frown and he wondered at that. "Okay Kakshi-san, you are all healed up!" He looked up to see the most beautiful smile he had seen in his life directed at him. "Thank you Sakura-chan" he offered to the pink haired woman as he dismissed his team, "Uh Sakura I would like to buy your lunch to thank you for healing me" Kakashi said this with as much confidence as he could muster. "Kakashi you don't have to thank me for fixing your arm since I am the one who broke it, but I am not about to turn down free lunch!" This made the silver hair ninja smile, but he did not miss the foul look that crossed the Uchiha's face when Sakura accepted his offer. Kakashi didn't understand why he felt the need to see the pink haired woman more, but he was sure that his sudden obsession with Sakura couldn't mean anything good.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Still looking for feedback when I can get it so please be honest! I have loved coming up with ideas for this story and I hope it can grow and become better as I become a better author. :)**

Chapt. 2

All was quiet in the small two bedroom apartment as the pink haired kunoichi stepped thoughtfully out of the shower. "I wonder why Sauske asked me to dinner?" she spoke out loud to no one in particular.

Across the village a brooding Uchiha paced back and forth. "Why would that bastard ask her to lunch? He knew I was staking my claim on her and yet he asked her on a date!" Sauske glared at the mirror that hung in his room. Since returning to the village he had decided that his first order of business would be to rebuild his clan to their former glory. He had decided that the only way was to find a wife and start having as many children as possible. The obvious choice for his plan was Sakura; for many reason he felt that she would be the perfect mate for his needs, if his children inherited even a portion of her chakra control or super strength combined with his sharingan they would be a force to be reckoned with. Also, Sauske admitted to himself that Sakura was the only woman alive how made him feel comfortable, he wouldn't lie and say that he had any romantic feelings for her at all, but he could at least be in a room with her and not want to stab himself with a katana. Deciding that he would not stand for what he considered a blantent disregard for his claim on the pink haired woman he thought to himself that he would just have to make his move sooner than he had planned.

Kakashi walked slowly to a Sakura's apartment and he wondered to himself what he was doing in the first place. "She is your former student you leecherous fool, and not to mention now that Sauske was back and obviously trying to make his move on her it was only a matter of time before she lept into the Uchiha's arms." He found himself frowning at the thought, " Who cares if she is still in love with the fool, it's not like she would ever have feelings for the likes of me." he found himself facing her front door without even realizing that he had made it that far, tentatively he knocked.

"In a minute Kakashi-san!" Sakura took one last look in the mirror before rushing to the door. "Hi Kakashi!, I hope I didn't make you wait too long!" She smiled at the man who looked at her. "I promised Ino that I would wear the new dress she bought me the next time we went out, but I couldn't find my heels." Kakashi shook his head to indicate that he hadn't been waiting long. Sakura smiled and linked her arm into his as they started toward the tea house where they had planned to have lunch.

When Sakura had first opened the door Kakashi thought that he might have been knocked in the gut for all the air that immediately left his first thought he had as he stared at his former student turned friend was that he had never seen anything or anyone more beautiful in all of his days. He could not remember ever finding a woman more attractive and Kakashi Hatake would be lying if he said that he hadn't been with a few woman. Thanking Kami that his face was covered with the mask that he always wore so that his blush would be hidden as his thoughts took a naughty turn. As Sakura touched him to link her arms in his he bit back a sharp breath. "This is going to be a long lunch" he said to himself.

The two ninja who quietly ate wished nothing more than to know what the person across from them was thinking. "I wonder why Kakashi is acting so distant. I thought he invited me he so we could have a chance to talk, apparently I thought wrong since the man has barely said two words since we got here." "God she is so beautiful I think I could sit here and not say a word so I can just stare at her." Both of them so lost in their own thoughts that they didn't even notice the pensive look on the other.

Sakura was the first to break the silence, "So Kakashi what's on your mind?" she hoped that he wasn't having a terrible time. She knew that he invited her here out of kindness and not any romantic feelings for her, but a girl could dream couldn't she? His answer made her confidence die a painful death.

"Honestly? I'm thinking about a beautiful woman that I can't seem to get off my mind." Wondering why in the hell he would go and say somthing like that, and thanking Kami he didn't name her specifically he noticed a look cross her face, was that _dissapointment_? No, he must have been imagining that look. There was no way that his sweet student would be dissapointed to learn that he was thinking of women.

"Oh, well I was just thinking that it is getting a bit late and I need to go file some paperwork before I have dinner with Sauske. I will see you tomorrow Kakashi!" Sakura took off before he could say a word and ran to her office slaming the door shut. "Well that settles it you follish girl, there is no way that there could be a future for Kakashi and I". She got to work and slowly her foul mood started lifting.

"Idiot, idiot, IDIOT!" Kakashi couldn't believe how badly he had bungeled his "date" with Sakura. "She probably thinks that I am a huge perv and I couldn't keep my mind off of other women. "Damnit!" He would have gone home since it was actually his laundry day, but suddenly the bar was calling his name and he decided a few rounds of sake would make him feel better about possibly ruining any possiblilty that he had with the woman.

_

Sakura and Sauske had decided that they would meet at the new bistro that was down the road from the hospital. And as they walked to the destination they had two completly different thoughts corsing through their minds. "I really hope Sauske doesn't get the wrong idea by me agreeing to meet him here. I missed him, but any love I held for him changed long ago so that I only feel for him what a sister would feel for a brother." Sakura subconsicely slowed her pace none to eager for the dinner she had agreed to. "I bet Sakura can hardly contain herslef, I am finally going to give her what she has always wanted. I can't wait to see the look on her face." Sauske sped up his pace hoping that he wouldn't have to wine and dine her all night before making his proposal.

As they walked down the uncrowded road on their way out of the bistro Sauske trust his hand swiftly into his pockets. "So, Sakura I have something I want to ask you about." Silence for a few seconds and the woman turned to look at the man who addressed her. "Would you be willing to marry me and have my children?"

Sakura was sure that what she had just heard had been her imiagination. Did Sauske just ask her to marry him? Have his children? "I'm sorry, did you just ask me what I think you asked me?" Sauske didn't reply only nodded his head. "Sauske do you have any idea what you are saying? First off that is NOT how you ask a woman to marry you and mother your children. Secondly what in Kami's name made you think I would say yes to something so absured?"

Sauske was puzzled at her reaction. "Sakura you never made it a secret that you love me, I thought this would be what you want?"

"Sauske I use to love you so much that it hurt to breathe, but I'm not that scared little girl who needs you to love me back anymore..." Sakura was interupted from her speech as an extremely intoxicated silver haired ninja stumbled out of the bar just then. "Oh my Kakshi! I don't think I have ever seen you so drunk."

Kakashi waved off her comment before tripping over thin air. Luckily for him Sakura had anticipated this and managed to catch him before his face hit dirt. "Well hello there my little cherry blossom!" Kakashi smiled up at the woman before once again swooning. "I'm heading home right now, want to join me" Kakashi winked at the girl, or rather he would have had there not been three Sakura's currently swiming around in his head.

Sauske was barely able to hid the growl he felt forming in the back of his throat at seeing Kakashi dangle off the woman he was planning to claim. "Kakashi I think you need to go home" he ground out hoping that Sakura would just let go so he could watch his former teacher fall flat on his face.

"Sasuke I am sorry to end our evening, but I am taking Kakashi home, I'm not sure he could make it there on his own as it is." Saukra couldn't help but smile at the silly man dangling from her arms as he begain humming to himself. "We can finish this conversation some other time, but just know that I am _not_ accepting you, but I promise I will consider starting off a little slower."

Sauske felt like protesting but he knew it would be no use so instead he just nodded and started off toward his clan's compound. "She said she wouldn't accept my proposal, but I know she still loves me so it's only a matter of time." Sasuke wasted no time showering and crawling under his covers as his thoughts turned to his future children. Kami help him he hoped none of them would get Sakura's awful pink hair.

"Have I ever told you how pretty your hair is Sakura?" Kakashi said this to the woman who was half walking, half draggin him toward his house. "When you were younger I thought maybe you died it that color, but I know now that it is natural and I think it's amazing.

"Hmm, thanks Kakashi. It's always been a bit of an embarrassment for me." My mother use to say that she considered dying it when I was a baby, but my father talked her out of it. "Almost there Kakashi, do you have your keys with you?"

"Left front pocket he mumbled." Several thoughts raced through his head "Kami does she smell good".

"Alright mister, I am going to set you in bed and then I am going to get you a glass of water so hopefully your hangover wont be to bad tomorrow." Sakura walked to the kitchen to find a glass, after a second she found what she was after; filling the glass with water a frown crossed her face. "What am I even doing? Kakashi made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with me and I promised Sauske that I would think about starting a relationship with him." Sighing to herself she crossed the small rooms to the back bedroom where she had set her oh so drunk friend. "Here you go Kakashi"

Kakashi couldn't believe that she had offered to take him home, but now she was taking care of him. Kakashi couldn't believe the next words that came out of his mouth, "It's late, why don't you just stay here?" he felt like smacking himself.

Sakura was surprised by his words, but what surprised her more was her answer "Yeah, okay."

"Sorry but you will have to share the bed with me, as you could see I never did my laundry and there are clothes pilled on the couch."... silence.

"Uh, I guess that would be okay. I mean it's not like we haven't shared a bed before." It was true, on many occasions the two had had to share a bed for a mission, Konoha was not known for splurging on rooms for the ninja in the field.

Kakashi scooted over making room for Sakura. "You can take my pillow, I only have one." He didn't think he had ever been more nervous in his life. Kakashi settled down, his buzz was almost completely gone now as his heart beat so widley that he thought for sure she could hear it. He knew that he would get no sleep tonight, but for some reason that bothered him less than it should have since that meant he could watch her sleep. "You are a creepy bastard old man."

"Did you say something Kakashi?" the man across from her shook his head no as he turned around so she wouldn't question him further. Sakura had no idea what made her accept his offer to stay over, but if she left now she would only show him more of the feelings she had been trying to surpress. No, she would stay and prove to him that his dissmisial of her advances didn't bother her at all! Sakura soon fell into a deep sleep as she cuddled the pillow that smelled like Kakashi.

"Goodnight beautiful".

**Hope you like the story so far. Don't worry we are building up to the smut but I really wanted you guys to actually know the characters before I started making them screw! ;P**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Just wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this story as it develops. I know that I have been updating everyday so far and I would like to try to update everyday until I finish this, but I just wanted all to be aware that IRL I have a 3 month old daughter so that might not always happen. Anyways hope you like this next chapter where some of the love triangle that is developing gets a little more intense.**

**Also I have realized as I was rereading this that it might be confusing to some when the characters are speaking, and when they are thinking so from now on (after I finish I will go back and edit the beginning) when a character is thinking I will use "" and ****_italics. :)_**

"Goodnight beautiful".

Kakashi lay silently in bed just watching the woman beside him, the steady rise and fall of her chest indicating that she was asleep. He couldn't stop himself and before he knew it he was touching her. He didn't want to wake her so he simply folded her hair behind the crease of her ear. He froze as the woman started moving toward him in her sleep. She nuzzled up to him and he felt himself becoming immediately hard. "_Stop it Kakashi, Sakura isn't one of your random conquest. She is one of the most important, well only, friends you have." _Cursing himself for asking her to stay he turned to face the ceiling. As he did so the warm body beside him closed the remaining distance between them. He let out a sigh "This is going to be a long night old man."

Sakura woke the next morning surprised to find Kakashi not in the small bed. "_Hmmm. Wonder where he slipped off too." _She decided it wasn't important since he had just offered for her to stay so that she didn't have to walk home so late. She decided he wouldn't mind if she took a shower before she left and so she made her way to the bathroom down the hall. What she saw when she opened froze her in her tracks. Kakashi, the man who she was trying her damnedest to fight back feelings for, was sitting in the tub absolutely naked, completely naked. Seeing his member was nothing new to the medic ninja who had had to strip him bare before to heel wounds to his thighs and stomach. No, what took her off guard was that the famous copy nin was naked from the neck up. She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips.

Kakashi was sitting in the tub trying to forget the sleepless night he had had before, he figured that Sakura would be a few hours before she got up so he decided that it was the perfect time to bathe. Seeing the object of his predicament walk through the door nearly stopped his heart. He then realized that he wasn't wearing his mask and slapped a hand over his face quickly. Later that day he would remember that moment and wonder how telling it was that he didn't even try to cover his gentiles. "Sakura what are you doing?"

"I uh, I was just coming to take a shower. I thought you had left. Dear God I am so sorry!" With this she turned and ran out of the house as fast as she could. "_Stupid, stupid stupid. Of course he was still there, it's only 5:30 AM!" _She choose to jump rooftop to rooftop since that was the quickest way to get from the apartment she just left to her own apartment. She slipped quietly through her balcony window with different thoughts bombarding her. Seeing Kakashi without his mask was a childhood dream, one that she had never imagined would come true. Now that she had seen behind the mask a part of her wished she hadn't. He was beautiful there was no mistaking it, but there was something else. Tiny scars had zigzaged across the area of his face where his mask covered. Seeing them had made her want to hold him close and kill whoever had hurt that beautiful face. It was obvious that he had been tortured, and it was also obvious that he was ashamed. Thinking back she remembered that Kakashi had been wearing that mask since a few years after graduating the academy. _"So young to have been tortured... who did this to you?" _Shaking off the question she realized that it didn't matter. Kakashi would never open up and let her in. She knew that she was a good friend of his, but he had no feelings for her beyond that and something like that was only shared between the most intimate of relationships.

Kakashi felt like he might be having a panic attack. _"Shit! She saw my face!"._ He rushed out of the bathroom and threw on his mask even though he knew that she was already gone. "She saw my face and now she will never be able to feel anything for me." The scars on his face were a constant reminder of his first mission out of Konoha. He could still remember every detail of that night like it was yesterday. Usually ninja were not sent out on missions unless they were on a 4 man team, but Kakashi had shown so much progress the third Hokage had felt that this minor problem could be dealt with with one ninja. He felt tears forming in the back of his eyes and he forced himself to shake off the memory. Standing before the mirror he pulled his mask down to reveal the scars that were hidden from the world. Running a finger them, each one deeper than the last he felt sick. He wasn't vain enough to think that the scars took away from his appeal, no his problem with them was that they showed how weak he truly was.

Sai, Sauske and Sakura waited for over an hour at the training grounds before they decided that he wasn't going to show up. Sai waved goodbye saying that he saw a birds nest outside his window that he would like to draw.

"Okay Sauske, I know you want to talk about what happened last night so now is as good a time as any I guess." Sakura was still thinking about what to do about Sauske's insane proposal that she marry him and have his children.

"Alright Sakura, how about we talk about why you felt the need to stay at Kakashi's house last night!" Sauske was clinching his fist so hard his fingernails were bound to draw blood if he didn't let up soon. "You belong to ME and I will be damned if I let you be touched by that perverted old man!"

Sakura was stunned. This is not where she imagined this conversation to go but even in her surprise she didn't miss how he had called her _his_ and grabbed her arm almost painfully. She sent a burst of her chakra to that arm, not enough to harm him, but enough that touching that part of her would be painful. He didn't even flinch and she was sure that he waited a few more seconds to prove to her that she couldn't hurt him. Her temper rising she felt her teeth clinch together. "First off, who the hell do you think you are calling me yours? I belong to no one. _You _left _me _remember? Secondly, I don't know how you knew I stayed at Kakashi's house last night, but you have nothing to worry about. I will be honest, I was starting to have feelings for him but he made it clear that he wasn't interested. And lastly, I loved you for year and years and you repeatedly ripped my heart to shreds, I don't know if I will ever love you the same way I did before you left but I told you I was willing to try and I will, but make no mistake I am not the little girl that followed you around and worshiped the ground you walked on. That little girl and the crazy bitch you see in front of you is her replacement.

Sauske didn't quiet know what to say _"Is this the same woman who would have done anything for me just a few short years ago?" _He smiled to himself _"Good, this woman seems even stronger". _"Alright Sakura, we will do things your way and take it slowly, but I wont wait forever." He turned to walk off and couldn't help his thoughts. "_She thinks that Kakashi isn't interested in her? That little fool, it's obvious that he is falling for you. That's why love is such a weakness." _He turned back to the woman and grabbed her arm, pulling her close enough so that their noses were touching he whispered to his pink haired companion, "You might not know it yet Sakura, but you _are _mine." Without another word he mashed his lips to hers capturing the soft gasp that escaped her mouth.

Sakura knew that this kiss was not meant to be sweet or romantic, it was possessive and hard. She imagined the little girl who would have died on the spot after getting kissed by this man. She smiled to herself which must have been misread by the Uchiha who pulled her closer and ground himself against her. Sakura couldn't help but be slightly turned on by the man who was trying to make her bend to his will, he was a sexy specimen, but she didn't feel any flutters. Nothing.

Sauske finally ended the kiss. He pulled back to see the look on her face, but was surprised to find only a hint of desire in her jade eyes. He was certain that she had been pleased by the kiss, but her face showed only minimal amounts of satisfaction in her gaze. _"Her feelings for Kakashi must have been stronger than I thought. I will just have to fix that." _Sauske didn't give Sakura a chance to think before he turned once again and left the training ground.

Sakura didn't understand why she couldn't feel more when the man who she had loved for most of her life kissed her. She knew that she should have swooned at his feet and begged for more, but she couldn't help but wish that her first kiss was given by someone else. Sakura had been waiting for Sauske most of her "adult" life and now he was back, and wanted to start a life with her. She was so confused and upset that she threw her kunai at a tree absentmindedly before she realized that it wasn't a tree at all. She was pretty sure this day couldn't get any worse as she looked up and saw that she had actually thrown her weapon into the shoulder of her sliver haired friend.

"Well I can see that this is a bad time so I think I will just go before I incur anymore bodily harm." He started to leave but say a flash of pink run up to him before he could make the hand-signs that would take him straight to his apartment.

"Kakashi wait! I didn't mean to hit you, I had my mind on something else and just threw it." She felt her heart stop when she realized what she had done. She gulped when it came time to pull her kunai out of her friend. Just a few more inches to the right and it would be lodged in his heart. She quickly put the thought aside and began sending her healing chakra to the wound that she had accidentally inflicted.

Kakashi stiffened slightly as the object was pulled from his body. "So, I just came here to apologize. I knew you were in the house and I should have locked the bathroom. I'm sorry you had to see my shame, but I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself."

Sakura knew something like this was coming, she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to him and friend I have, the only one who didn't leave me in one way or another. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I am here if you ever feel the need." She left her hand there longer than she meant to and suddenly felt awkward as she removed it.

Kakashi didn't know what to say. He could see the compassion in her eyes and it was slowly chipping away at his resolve, without further thought he pulled his mask down bellow his chin and brought her in for a kiss.

Where Sauske's kiss was hard and demanding Kakashi's was soft and warm. His lips felt like silk on hers and she could feel a knot forming in her stomach. Her body practically melted against his own and she reveled in the new sensations that took over her. When the kiss was over she felt him hold her, she almost cried when he let go so that he could look at her. She could see the questioning look on his face and wondered why he had kissed her if he hadn't meant to. "_That must have just been the only way he could think to thank me for what I said." _Then it dawned on her, she had just decided to start a relationship with Sauske and here she was less than an hour later kissing someone else. "Sauske asked me to be his girlfriend... I said yes..." The words tripped their way out of her mouth and she almost wished they weren't true as she said them.

"I see. Well it was just a heat of the moment kiss anyway, nothing to worry about." He put on his most fake smile as he righted the mask on his face. "Better not keep you from Sauske any longer. I'm happy for you Sakura, you finally got what you always wanted." They words were meant to ease the pain he was feeling, to assure himself that his feelings were nothing more than in infatuation, but as he said them he could almost hear his heart breaking. He was in love with her. "_God Damnit! How could I be so stupid?" _He wished he could melt away forever and never have to look at her beautiful face again. She would never be his. Even if she didn't go running back to Sauske he had no illusions, she could never love someone like him. She wanted a family, she wanted children and he would never be a father. It wasn't that he didn't want children deep down inside, but having someone like that so close to his heart would be an even bigger weakness than the scars on his face. He didn't think she belonged with someone as cold as Sauske, but if that made her happy than he would learn to live with it. His whole heart wanted to kiss her again; to tell her his feelings and beg her to give him a chance, but he wouldn't do that. "Be ready to train tomorrow, we leave for Sand in a few days." with that he made the quick hand-signs that would take him far away from the woman who had penetrated his heart.

Sakura watched him go in a puff of smoke. "_I had never been kissed in my life before today, and now I have been kissed by two separate people. What does that say about the future of my love life?" _She couldn't help but wonder at the fact that she had kissed the man who she had loved for years and felt almost nothing, but she had nearly cried from happiness at being kissed by a man that she had had a simple crush on. She contemplated going home but she knew that if she would be leaving in a few days that she should really get some work done at the hospital, so she grudgingly made her way toward the building next to Hokage Tower. Sakura was a top class medical ninja, even surpassing her teacher in some ways, but she always felt more at home on the field. She was almost giddy at the thought of being sent back out on a mission.

_

Several mornings later the team of four made their way through the gates and headed off toward the direction of the Sand Village. The tension between the two sharingan wielders and the kunoichi was nearly palpable and it didn't go beyond the notice of the stoic Sai, wisely he kept his thoughts to himself and decided that he would ask Kakashi about it after they made camp. If this kept up he would have to watch all of their backs for them since none of them were as focused as they should be.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Sauske knew that he wasn't as focused on the mission as he should be. Since this was his first official mission as a returned Leaf Ninja he knew he should be giving it his all, but he couldn't help but grumble inwardly at the looks his "leader" was giving his woman. "_Stupid bastard actually thinks he has a chance with her. Hmmp, not in a million years." _Sauske was planning on slowly putting a wedge between the two but when he saw that Sakura couldn't hide her smile as she looked at the silver haired jonin he decided that he would have to work fast. He couldn't let Sakura see that Kakashi was falling for her, and he certainly couldn't let her realize that her feelings for Kakashi were more than just a girly crush. He decided that he would show Sakura exactly how the real Kakashi was around women. Then she would turn to him and give him what he wanted. "_Yes, when she sees that he is just a lecherous man-whore she will come running." _He had a feeling it would be hard to put Kakashi in a compromising position since he obviously was enamored with Sakura, but he would find a way, even if he had to pay some sand bitch to seduce the silver haired man...

**A/N: I hope that this chapter illuminated just how possessive Sauske feels over Sakura, treating her like a spoil of war. Also I hope it was easy to see how I am trying to make Sakura's relationship with Kakashi a foil of her relationship with Sauske. Hope you enjoyed. I would love some input so I know if you guys like where this story is headed or not! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I know that this is the second chapter I put out today, but I got lucky and had a good baby all day J**

Kakashi had never felt so stupid in his life. As he watched the woman he loved jump through the trees at a break-neck speed he wondered if he had been cursed. He was never one to "love" woman, oh he was a "lover" for sure but to actually be in love? He knew he should be paying more attention to the task at hand but he couldn't stop himself from glancing at the pink haired beauty every few minutes. She made him want to change, she made him want to know what it felt to love someone with all your heart, and to feel that love in return. That's when he remembered that she was now in a relationship with the man she had always loved. He would never know what it felt to be loved by her and that knowledge made his heart ache. He pushed his heartache aside, "We will make camp here for the night and get started before the sun rises, Sai go get some firewood. I will clear out sleeping space Sakura and Sauske you guys get started on making dinner."

Sakura felt so torn, she knew Kakashi did have romantic feelings for her, he wasn't the type, but she couldn't rein in her growing feelings for him. "_Get ahold of yourself! You are seeing another man, not just any man but the man you have loved from the beginning!"_ She looked up and she saw Sauske staring at her with a confused look on his face. "_Crap, he must have seen me frown!"_ "Uh Sauske, could you measure out the right amount of rice while I go get some water from the stream?"

"Yeah I can do that. Is everything okay? You look a little lost." Sauske knew exactly what was on her mind but he couldn't pass up the chance to look like he cared about her feelings.

Surprised by his kindness she replied "Yeah, just a little distracted, no big deal."

Grabbing her slowly he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a serious look "You can tell me anything you know?" then he draped his lips over hers and pressed a quick kiss to her. "I might have messed up before but I am serious about wanting to start a family with you."

Sakura had never seen him be so kind before, it was more than a little shocking and she found herself wondering what the reason was_. "Did he really mean it? Does he want to be with me, is it possible he loves me?"_

"Sakura I lo…I really care about you." He knew he should have said he loved her, but he couldn't make the word come out. He would have to work on that or she might suspect his feelings were much shallower than he wanted her to believe. _"She has to think I_ _love her or she will just run off with Kakashi."_

"Thanks Sauske, but it's nothing to worry about just have a lot on my mind." She began to grow mad at herself. _"Why do his kisses make me want to kiss someone else? Why can't my stupid brain just take what is right in front of me and not want what it can't have?" _With that thought plaguing her she went about her task for the evening.

Sai dropped the bundle of firewood he had collected and sought out the main with silver hair. "Kakashi, I need to ask you a question?" He waited for the man that he was speaking up then he proceeded, "Are you in love with Sakura-chan?".

Kakashi almost choked, "Keep your voice down!" He seethed for a moment before answering "What would make you think that?"

"Well, when you look at her you look like you have finally found something you lost, your concentration is off, you stare at her much longer than is required and when her and Sauske are together you look like someone punched you in the gut."

Kakashi was sure that he had hidden his feelings better than that, but if Sai knew than that meant that Sauske knew too, the two of them were always more observant than was good for them. He wondered if that was the cause for the dirty looks he had been receiving from the Uchiha all day. "_That fool has no idea what he has. I wish I had one chance to be her everything. Huh, not in a million years old man." _"Yes Sai, I love her but I trust you will keep that to yourself since she is obviously happy with Sauske."

"I don't know that she is as happy as you think. Have you seen the way he looks at her, like she is an object that he wants to collect?" Sai wanted to see his teammates happy, and he didn't think Sakura would ever be happy with the Uchiha. She only thought she loved him.

"Sai that's just how Sauske shows that he cares about her, I will not ruin her happiness no matter how much it hurts." Kakashi didn't wait for an answer before turning on his heel and walking away.

Sai sat there for a moment. "I might be knew at this whole emotion thing, but what Sauske was feeling certainly doesn't look like "love" to me." Sai chuckled to himself. This was going to be an interesting mission.

_

They had made it to the gates of Sand without any incidents. There had been an awkward moment when they camped the first night and Sakura's bedroll ended up sandwiched between Sasuke's and Kakashi's. Sakura had tossed and turned all night and felt extremely grumpy the next morning. The second and third day of their journey was filled with silence as the three had tried to ignore each other and the stoic artist looked with amusement at his teammates.

They were greeted at the gate by the Kazegakes siblings.

"Sakura! It's so good to see you!" said Temari with a smile on her face. Kankuro simply smiled and bid them to come in.

Kakashi spoke to the puppet master. "We are on a mission and we need to deliver this scroll to the Kazekage right away."

"Alright, I will show you to his office". Without another word Kakuro turned and head toward the tower.

Moments later a quiet knock was placed on the door to the Kazekage's office.

"Welcome, I was told to expect a message from the Leaf very soon. I must say I am a little disappointed that Naruto isn't with you, but it is good to see some familiar faces." The Kazekage gave a genuine smile then held his hand out for the scroll that he knew was coming.

Sakura spoke next, "Naruto would have loved to come, but you will be excited to learn that his absence is due to his training to become Hokage!".

"That's wonderful! I always had faith in my old friend and I knew that he would make it." Gaara quickly read the scroll and then smiled as he finished. The Leaf village wants to continue our truce and they have agreed to reopen the trade that we had established. "Please Kakshi-senpei, tell your Hokage that we accept the terms of the truce and we are eager to return to being ally's." Almost out of nowhere the Kage of the Sand Village spoke again. You will of course rest for a few days before returning to your village. I will have rooms prepared for you at a hotel close by, free of charge!"

Sakura was visably relieved to have a few days break from the awkwardness and excited to see one of her friends for a few days. Hopefully Temari wouldn't be too upset to here Sakura was dating Sauske. Temari had always told Sakura that Sauske wasn't her type, but she was at least wise enough to not anger the short tempered Sakura.

The team went off to the hotel they were given directions too and were not disappointed. The place was huge and extremely luxurious for being in the middle of a desert. The only problem is that there were only two rooms available.

"Sakura and I are sharing a room." Sauske spoke without even looking to the pink haired woman for confirmation.

"Do you think that is appropriate Sauske?" Sai was the one who asked the question.

"First off, we are all adults now, not little children. Secondly Sakura is _my_ girlfriend so what we do is none of _your_ business." When he spoke of his relationship with Sakura his voice was filled with venom and his gaze was directed on Kakashi, not Sai.

Sakura couldn't help the blush creeping up her face. She didn't want to share a room with Sauske, truth be told she was a little afraid of him. She couldn't seem to tell him no and she wasn't sure that being in close quarters with him was a good idea.

Kakashi spoke next, "It's up to you Sakura, what do you want to do?" It was a simple question but there was so much more behind the words. He was asking, no begging her to refuse the Uchiha. "_Please don't do it"_

"I uh… I guess that would be okay." She was ashamed that she couldn't put her foot down so she looked at the floor, completely missing Kakashi's look of heartbreak.

"_Well there you have it old man, she chose him."_

**A/N: Hope you like this chapter. The next chapter is going to be much darker than the previous ones so if you can't handle that you should probably stop reading. Review please, I can't get any better if I don't know what you guys are thinking!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry about the delay in post. Hope you like this one, but it going to take a bit of a dark turn.**

Chapter 5.

To say that her situation was awkward would be an understatement. Sakura sat huddled on one side of the bed with the covers pulled up to her chin trying to make herself as small as possible. Sauske had immediately claimed the bathroom once they found their room. Sakura was slightly peeved that he was taking so long since she was sure there would be no hot water left, but even that anger was not enough to make her ignore the growing panic that had settled in her gut. Sauske had been all sorts of handsy since she had agreed to be his girlfriend. She heard the shower shut off and could barely stifle her groan of displeasure. _"What is wrong with you Sakura? You have always wanted to be with this man and now is your chance. You saved yourself for him, turning down all those high paying seduction missions so you better not mess this up!" _Even though she kept trying to cheer herself up she couldn't stop the shaking of her hands, or the trembling of her heart.

Sometime after her bath she slowly crept to her bed praying to whoever was listening that Sauske was sleeping and she would be granted some reprieve. No such luck.

Sauske had been waiting for over half an hour and he felt his patients growing thin, then when he was about to cross the room and beat on the door to make her come out he saw the door slowly open and Sakura crept out as quietly as she could. "Hello." He could almost hear the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Sakura must be really nervous about this, no matter, he was sure he would have her begging him to take her in a matter of minutes. He got up and crossed the room in just a few steps. Wrapping his arms around her he slammed her body into his and leaned into her ear. "I know you want time to think about this, but I can't stop myself from taking you now." "_And hopefully you get pregnant the first time so you have no choice about marrying me."_

"Sauske, I can't do this, I'm not ready." She couldn't deny that his body felt a little good pressed against hers, but she was sure that was more from lack of experience and not from actual desire. She started to pull back but he was persistent.

Sauske was not going to take no for an answer, he pushed her back up against the wall and started trailing kisses up and down her neck. "I KNOW you want this Sakura, this is what you have always wanted."

"Sauske please…"

Sauske was getting tired of her please for him to stop. As he held one hand over her mouth he thought to himself, "_She can pretend all she wants that she doesn't want this but I know better._" He slid his free hand inside her shirt and groped blindly for the fastenings of her bra, once that was undone he pulled her bra down until her breasts were exposed. He could feel his member growing larger as his hand found her pert nipple. His hand was not gentle and he felt more than heard a grunt coming from the woman. "Sakura if you love me you will let me do this."

She knew that she should make her stop, he brain was practically screaming that this was not what she wanted, but how could she say no to this man. As a medic she was obsessed with fixing people and she was sure that this would help Sauske. She would just have to close her eyes and bare it.

Sauske didn't say another word as he pulled at her skirt with enough force that she was sure there would be a bruise by morning. Hooking a finger into her panties he slid them down her long legs and he had his own clothes off before they ever hit the floor. Sauske pushed her harder against the wall and slammed into her with one harsh thrust. He was not slow, he was not gentle and as he tore through her innocence he only slowed long enough to sneer at the woman whimpering before him. "_God she is so tight!" _He felt his control slowly ebbing away and he felt a tingling sensation coming from the curse mark on his neck as he pumped fiercely into the pink haired woman. He could feel his testicles rising and he knew that his release was close. He could barely form a coherent though as his long fingers made their way to the slender neck of the woman he was ravishing.

He was holding her throat so tight she could barely breathe. As he grunted, pumping into her faster and faster she prayed that it would be over soon. As he spilled his seed into her a single tear slid down her face and she felt a part of her wither and die, then everything went blank as she finally passed out from lack of oxygen.

Sakura felt her eyes open a few minutes later and realized she was still slumped up against the wall, naked from the waist down. Sauske had apparently had his fill of her and was fast asleep in the middle of the bed. She gathered up her clothes and what very little she still possessed of her dignity and stepped out the door. She decided that the bar across the street seemed dark enough that she could hide in a corner and try and pretend tonight was just a nightmare.

Kakashi didn't usually drink while on missions, but after hearing Sakura declare that she would be sharing a room with Sauske he decided it might not be a bad idea. He was on his second drink when he saw a flash of pink hair huddled in the corner. He decided he would ignore her when his super sense of smell could pick up the scent of a woman who had just had sex. Then his nose caught another scent from the woman, fear. He was sure that it was the alcohol that was making him think that, but before he could talk himself out of it he was crossing the room. He folded himself in the seat beside her. "_I will just reassure myself that I did not smell fear and then be on my way." _

Sakura was sure nothing worse could happen today, then she felt rather than saw her silver haired friend making his way to her. He sat down in the seat beside her and she felt her heart clench. "_I wish it could have been you Kakashi…"  
_  
"Hey beautiful, shouldn't you be in bed?" He don't know why he called her that, but he couldn't bring himself to take it back.

"I uhhh, I just needed some air." Sakura thought this would be as good a lie as any.

"Oh I see, you needed some fresh air and the first place that came to mind was a seedy bar?" Kakashi almost laughed at the thought, but he didn't. He wondered why she felt like she needed to lie.

"I'm just not feeling very well." That wasn't a lie and she hoped he wouldn't press her for further information.

Kakashi felt his throat tighten as he realized that she had been crying. From the looks of it she had actually been sobbing. Her eyes looked less bright than he remembered and that made him sad. He started to ask her what was wrong but then his gaze shifted slightly lower so that he could see the pulse of her heart in her jugular, and that's when he noticed. The bruises.

**A/N: Hope no one was offended by this chapter. As a victim of rape myself I felt nervous writing about it and not breaking down, but I think that I needed to do this as a way to heal. Feel free to review. The next chapter won't be as dark as this one but we are getting closer to the end of this story. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Strangely enough I found this chapter harder to write than the last one just because I wasn't sure how all of the characters would take these new developments. Hopefully it's still enjoyable. **

Chapter 6.

"Sakura what the hell happened, and don't you even think about lying to me." Kakashi's heart was beating so swiftly that he thought that it's palpitations could probably be heard by every patron in the bar. His hands ghosted over her soft skin that was now sporting bruises so dark they were purple.

"Oh these? Uh, it's nothing." She felt so stupid for forgetting to heal before she left the hotel room. Green chakra quickly lit her hands and she began to heal the bruises on her neck. She decided to heal the bruises on her inner thighs to since it was obvious Kakashi knew how she got them anyway. She saw his eyes narrow to where she was healing and her breath caught in her throat at the look in his eye. There was only one word you could use to describe a look like that. Murderous.

Kakashi was out of his seat before he knew it and heading directly for the room where the Uchiha slept. He could hear Sakura behind him begging him to just let it go but he didn't care. "_That bastard is going to pay for what he did to her."_

"Kakashi wait!" She had never seen that look in his eye when they weren't fighting for their lives and it scared her. _"I can't let them fight, they would destroy each other."_

Kakashi slammed through the door and was met with a semi sleepy ninja who was already armed (It didn't bode well for ninja to be caught sleeping).

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Sauske was in no mood to listen to whatever his "leader" had to say. He say Sakura shuffle in behind the Copy Nin and wondered what the hell this was all about.

"What did you do to her you bastard?" Kakashi was ready to drag this sorry piece of filth to the street and end the life of the last Uchiha. Eyes steady he moved his hand to his kunai pouch but found a bit of resistance. Sakura had her hand firmly against his and her eyes begged him to not start a fight.

"I wasn't doing anything that she didn't want me too, ask her yourself…she likes it rough" Kakashi felt sick to his stomach, turning to the woman beside him he gazed into her eye looking for any trace that what the man said was a lie so he could kill him. Her eye said nothing, but the next words out of her mouth shocked him to the core.

"It's okay Kakashi, I…liked it." Her eyes drifted to the floor out of shame, not because she had actually liked being handled the way Sauske had handled her, but because she had lied to Kakashi. She hadn't wanted it, she wanted to weep for her own lost innocence but she had come to the conclusion that if she were to admit to Kakashi what had actually happened they two men would wage an all-out war and she wasn't sure if either of them would survive a head to head match.

None of them had noticed the quiet artist sliding in the room just seconds before and he was not about to draw attention to himself now. He could tell that Sakura was lying, years of training in root made his ability to separate lie from truth almost unparalleled. Even still he didn't have to look hard to tell she was lying, it was there in the slump of her shoulders and the shake of her voice. If you hadn't know her well enough you could mistake this for shame at enjoying something so deviant, but he knew better. He knew for a fact that Sakura was innocent, or at least she was. What Sai couldn't understand was how she was allowing the Uchiha to control her. The Sakura he knew was a powerhouse. Her strength was unmatched by even the Hokage and even though she might not be able to take down the Uchiha she could certainly get her point across. So why then was she allowing him to treat her this way? It must be that stupid sense of female pride he knew she possessed in abundance. She thought she could "Fix" this broken man all by herself so she had allowed him to treat her like filth.

Kakashi couldn't believe his ears. His sweet cherry blossom _enjoyed_ this? "_How could anyone enjoy that, especially from someone they love?"_ Kakashi could be as dirty as the next guy, well more dirty in fact, but he could never imagine choking someone to the point where they had bruises. Choking him wasn't his forte at all but he knew that some people liked it. Kakashi preferred to make love to his women slowly. That was neither here nor there and he couldn't help the anger as he turned without another word and left.

Sai stepped forward then and asked if he could speak to Sakura out in the hall. "It will only take a minute." He saw Sauske wave him off and then crawl back into the bed. The pink haired woman followed him quietly out into the dark hallway. "Sakura why are you doing this? It's obvious you were lying but I don't understand why you are with him. You haven't been happy since we left for this mission." He heard her suck in a breath, but he wasn't about to stop. Sometimes people needed tough love to understand that their pain was somewhat self-inflicted. "I get it, you use to be madly in love with this guy, but he broke your heart and more than that he broke you, but you overcame that and became one of the strongest ninja I have ever known. I know you think you can fix him Sakura but he can't be fixed unless he wants to be fixed. Do you honestly think that he respects you? That he loves you? A real man wouldn't treat any woman the way he has treated you. You could knock this guy into next week but you just let him take you."

Sakura was crying now, every word he had said was true. She was ashamed of herself. She was a Leaf Kunochi damnit! And she was letting a man _rape_ her. Her tears that had started to fall at the man's words were feeling cold from the heat coming off her face. She was getting angry. She had let Sauske take the most beautiful thing she had to offer a man and not only had he not been grateful, but he had nearly broken her all over again in doing so. She suddenly remembered all of the nights she had cried herself to sleep after Sauske had left, hell he had tried to _kill_ her on more than one occasion.  
She felt her fist clench together and she had sort of snapped. She had been telling herself over and over again that he was different, that he came back to be with her but the truth was that he had never once told her he loved her. In fact he told her that he wanted her for nothing else than to be a baby factory so he could rebuild his clan. She gave Sai a slight nod and stomped back into the room with the sleeping Uchiha.

Sai was glad to see his teammate snap out of whatever spell that Sauske had woven around her and he couldn't help a small smile that crept on his face. "I almost feel sorry for him… almost."

"Sauske get up!" Sakura could feel herself shaking but it wasn't from fear, she was pissed and she was about to make her anger known.

Sauske grumbled at the woman who he had thought to still be the quiet meek girl he had left all of those years ago, but the look in her eyes was anything but meek. He would never admit it to himself, but he was afraid.

"HOW DARE YOU?" Sakura was quiet enough that there argument wouldn't be heard outside but she was not whispering by any means. "You sick bastard! Did you know that you took my innoncence or could you not even tell by how rough you were? You choked me Sauske, you choked me so hard that I passed out and you didn't even care enough to move me to the bed or return my clothes, you left me crumbled on the floor. You tried to break me Uchiha and like a fool I almost let you but no more. I am going to break you!" She dove at him and landed a solid punch right to his face, even without chakra the blow was enough to break his jaw and shatter his nose. "And don't expect me to heel you. I will be your teammate because unlike some people I am loyal to this village and I will even try my damndest to forgive you, but if you EVER so much as look at me wrong ever again I won't be aiming for your face and I won't hold back. She cast a glance down to his genitals so her point would be heard and she could almost hear his mind working wondering how he would ever rebuild his clan if she got a hold of him there.

Sauske knew when he had been beaten, but that didn't mean that he was going let it go. "He doesn't love you, you know? He just knows that you have feelings for him and he wants to use you. No one could ever love someone like you Sakura. You might have more strength then 10 men but you are weak. You let me take you, you barely put up a fight because you know I'm right. I was the only chance you had and now you have decided to give that up. But don't worry, when you find out I am right you can come back and stand behind me where you belong." Then he strode to stand in front of her and gently placed a hand on her stomach, "Who knows, my child could already be growing inside you".

Sakura felt like she had just been punched in the gut. Could that be true? Could she have gotten pregnant? She visibly shuddered at the thought. No, that couldn't be. She turned and strode out of the room without a second glance.  
Walking down the hall she pressed her face on the door to Kakashi and Sai's room. Before she could even knock Sai was there opening the door and enveloping her in a gentle embrace. She allowed his warmth to comfort her and rested her head on his chest.

"I am proud of you Sakura. Tonight you proved how strong you truly are." He inclined his head to where Kakashi would have been sleeping had he been there at all. "Give him some time, he will come around."

"Oh Sai, it's too late for that. It's not like he really had feelings for me anyway, he was just trying to be a good friend." She held him closer, her own words bringing sadness.

"What are your feelings for him Sakura?"

"Honestly? I don't know, I thought what I felt for Sauske all those years ago was love but I was wrong. If I loved Kakashi I wouldn't have lied to him right?"

"Oh I don't know. I think lying to protect someone you care for could mean that you do love him."

She sat there and thought for a second. Kakashi was the closest friend she had. He had been there for her in a way that no one else had when Sauske had left, and then Naruto left soon after. He had always been there when she needed a shoulder to cry on even though she knew he hated to see her cry. She knew that he felt at least a close friendship for her, and apparently lust if that kiss had been an indicator. Did she love him? She had been so blinded by Sauske's return that she hadn't realized that after the war that somewhere along the way her feelings had taken a deep turn. My God, she did love him.  
"You're right Sai, I do love him. But what does it matter, he wants nothing to do with me and even if he can still stand to be my friend it's not like he can give me anything more. I think I must be doomed to walk this Earth and be on the same team as the man I love, knowing that he doesn't love me in return." She felt a silent tear slide down her cheek. "I thought it was bad with Sauske, this is so much worse."

Sai gently picked her up and tucked her into his bed, thankful Kakashi and Sai had gotten the room with two beds. He pulled the cover over her and lay down beside her careful to lie down on top of the covers so she knew his intentions. He pulled her in close, and let her cry herself to sleep. Several hours later their team leader came into the room and scowled down at him.

"Oh so she has decided to make her way around the whole team huh?" He was drunk and he didn't care how callous his words were. "You can have her." He was a little startled when Sai let go of the woman sleeping beside him and crossed the room.

"You watch your tongue, she has gone through enough and she doesn't need any more guilt on her shoulders,"

"Guilt? Are you joking?" Kakashi looked incredulously at the man before him. "Guilty about what? That she likes a rough fuck?" Kakashi knew the words sounded harsh but his heart had been broken by the pink haired kunoichi and at this point in time he didn't care if she woke up and heard him. Next thing he knew he was pressed firmly against the door with a kunai at his throat.

"I know you are hurting and a little drunk so I will refrain from maiming you, but shut your mouth before you wake her up. You have no idea what you are talking about and I won't let you speak about her that way."

"Okay then, enlighten me." Kakashi was starting to feel his buzz wear off at the serious turn this conversation had taken.

"He raped her you idiot. He has been pressuring her since he came home to have his children so he could rebuild his clan. She didn't want this any more than you did." He waited for a second before continuing, letting his hold on Kakashi's neck loosen. "She lied to you because she knew as her best friend that if you knew the truth you wouldn't stop until either you or Sauske was dead."

Kakashi could feel the blood draining from his face; even though he wanted to blame her he knew that Sai's words were true. Thinking back on it her face had been all wrong when he asked her if she had consenting. He sent a nervous glance at the woman sleeping, thanking whatever God was listening that she had slept through his tirade. "I'm going to kill him."

"No, you are going to continue this mission and then when we return to Konoha we will let the Hokage deal with him, besides I am fairly sure that Sakura said her two cents to him already."

"I can't just let him get away with it Sai, I love her."

"You know that Sakura is light a daughter to Tsunade, do you really think she will just let it go?"

" I guess not. How is she Sai?"

"Beaten, but not broken this time, but there is something that you should know." Sai felt like he might be overstepping his bounds, but he couldn't stand to see them like this. "She loves you Kakashi, she loves you more than she even knew herself, but she is hurting."

"She.. she loves me?" Kakashi could hardly believe the words he was hearing. Sakura, his Sakura returned the love that he was trying so hard to hide. He felt like hugging the man before him before remembering that he wasn't much of a hugger and neither was Sai. Then realization of the conversation hit him. Sauske had raped her. He was itching to kill the man, but that wasn't what she wanted so he would refrain. A small smile flashed under his mask at the thought of the foul tempered Hokage, and the Hokage to be beating the ever-loving shit out of the Uchiha. His smile was quickly replaced by a frown as he quickly glanced at the woman sleeping. How in the world was he going to convince her that he could love her and that he wouldn't leave? How could he heal the scars that would obviously cut her deep? Kakashi wasn't sure what his game plan was to make her his, but he would try anything. He was known for his stubbornness after all.

**A/N: The last chapter will be the last on in the story. I am considering a sequel if it gets enough interest. Hope you enjoyed this one since Sakura finally got her nerve back! Sauske has always been a weak point for her but I think she is finally past being under his control… **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, so first off sorry for the delay. I have been going over it in my head and I decided that this story needed an epilogue so I have decided that there will be one more chapter after this one! I hope that doesn't piss anyone off but I think that there needs to be more wrap up before can call this story complete. Hopefully everyone who was waiting for smut will be satisfied. Enjoy! **

Sakura awoke slowly, she knew that she had fallen asleep in the same bed as Sai but she hadn't expected him to _cuddle_ her! Sakura turned toward the man draping his body over hers in a attempt to wake him but what she saw nearly stopped her heart. Kakashi was in bed with her, and he was holding onto her like his life depended on it while sleeping soundly. Sakura made a sound that was suspiciously like an "Eep!" before she fell backwards out of the bed.

When he heard a sudden _thump_ Kakashi sat upright on the bed. Looking over the side of the bed where the sound had come from he saw one of the most endearing things he had ever seen. Sakura had a wide eyed expression glued to her face staring up at him. She was tangled in the blanket and her hair looked like she had been standing in front of a fan for the whole night. He thought that she had never looked more adorable. "Well good-morning to you too"

Sakura sat in stunned silence for a moment. "Uhh, how did you get in my bed and why were you cuddling me?" She caught herself gaping at him and forced her mouth to shut.

"You looked like you could use the company and I was more than happy to sleep in the same bed as a beautiful woman" Then he winked at her and offered her his arm so she could foist herself out of her heap of blankets.

"Kakashi, I thought after last night that you hated me." She couldn't even bring herself to look at him as she spoke the words.

He gently placed a hand under her chin and slowly lifted her face so that she was looking at him. "I could never hate you Sakura. I'm sorry if I ever made you doubt that. If anything you should hate me. I let him hurt you and I didn't notice how far it had gotten until it was too late. Can you forgive me?"

"Kakashi it wasn't your job to protect me from him, you aren't my teacher anymore." She felt a single tear slide down her face at the unwanted memory of last night but she refused to acknowledge it.

Kakashi's hand went to her cheek where he gently wiped the tear from her face, then replaced his hand with his lips. He backed off just enough to whisper in her ear. "I will always protect you, not because I was once your teacher you know. Sakura you should know that we are on equal grounds now. I will always protect you because I care for you deeply." he backed up so that he could gauge her reaction. Confusion was written plainly on her face.

"Kakashi what do you mean by that?" Sakura felt like her erratic heart beat could probably be heard across the room.

"Sakura I have never been good at telling people how I feel, part of the reason I wear this mask is because while I have a hard time explaining how I feel my face does not." Kakashi slowly put his hand up to his mask and started to draw it down. "Since I can't tell you how I feel how about I show you?"

Sakura actually gasped when he pulled his mask down, sure she had seen it before, but that had been an accident and this was deliberate. She barely caught her breath before Kakashi put his bare lips to hers and she lost her wind again. She stiffened for a minute thinking about the events of the night before, but this was different, he was different, and this felt right.

Kakashi didn't miss the way she stiffened in defense when he kissed her and it broke his heart a little bit but then she relaxed into his kiss and he felt his bruised heart warming. He sucked in a short breath when she threaded her slim fingers through the hair at the back of his neck.

Neither one of them noticed the pale artist wake up and take his leave through he window, which is good because a certain pink haired woman would have been so embarrassed she might not have continued what she was doing.

Sakura had had her virginity taken from her the evening before but she could still count the number of times she had been kiss on one hand. She couldn't tell you what was on Kakashi's mind in that moment, but as their lips met she could tell you exactly what was in his heart. He loved her. Sakura was sure that the man who she had recently realized that she loved, loved her in return and her first thought was that she was still dreaming. Well if this was a dream then she was going to live it up!

Kakashi could see the gears turning as he kissed the woman, only breaking when they needed to breathe. He decided to test the waters and pushed his tongue into her mouth she didn't resist which gave him courage and he slicked his tongue across hers slowly. The response was a slow moan which he wasn't entirely convinced wasn't his own.

Sakura was certain that this was a dream so she decided to completely indulge herself. In the dreams of this nature she had had about Kakashi (she would be a liar if she denied that she had had them) had always ended before she got to the "good part" so she intended to ride this out to the fullest. *pun intended.

Sakura was tired of taking this slowly since the horrors of last night were already pushed in the back of her mind. She pushed him down onto the bed and straddled his hips, never breaking the bond their lips now shared. She kissed him deeply and then sat up and lifted her shirt over hear head while never breaking eye contact.

Kakashi practically hissed at the sight of her getting undressed. He knew she was beautiful and he had expected her to be sexy, but the amount of raw sex appeal of the woman who sat on top of his was practically dripping off of her in copious amounts. As much as he wanted to rip their remaining clothes off and drive himself into to claim her for himself he held off. He knew after the things she had gone through she would need to take things slow, but she apparently didn't get that memo. "Sakura, we don't have to move this fast. We only have to do what you want.

"Oh shut up Kakashi" She giggled as she pushed him roughly back onto the bed. She started to kiss him again, but it wasn't his lips she was kissing. She had started pressing soft kissed to his neck and chin. "Shirt, now" she demanded. He complied and she laid herself on top of him just relishing the skin to skin contact for a moment. Then she was back to kissing him.

Kakashi had never seen this forceful side of Sakura but he would be damned if he said it didn't turn him on. He was rapidly loosing control and the reminder to let her lead was the only thing that preventing him from rolling her over and showing her just how much he liked her little display. When she started kissing lower, leaving a trail down around his belly button he just about lost his mind. She kept kissing him, driving him mad since that was where she had stopped. After a full minute he was confused. "Is something wrong Sakura?"

"No, it's just that I have read about what you are suppose to do, but I have never actually done it. Ino explained the kissing to me in detail, but after that I'm not sure what I am suppose to do..." She looked down again in shame.

"Would you be okay with me taking control? I promise I will bring you pleasure and if you decide you want to stop I will I swear." Kakashi knew that it would probably kill him, or at least give him a serious case of the blue balls if they stopped now, but this was for her and he knew that she might not be ready for this.

Sakura thought for a moment. "_What if he hurts me like Sauske? I know this is just a dream but what if it turns into a nightmare?"_ "I think that would be okay, but you will stop if I want right?"

"Of course Sakura." "_Please don't ask me to stop"_. Slowly he turned her over so that her back was on the bed and he was sitting in between her legs. He reached his hand up to her waist and carefully inched her shorts and underwear down her legs, when they got to ankle he pulled them off and tossed them somewhere on the other side of the room. Kakashi stared at her now in her full nakedness and felt like growling. He had never seen something more beautiful and he wanted her now. He smiled slowly when his nose picked up a scent that he recognized. She was wet alright, practically dripping. His gaze shifted down toward the apex of her thighs and he saw a small tuff of pink hair that was slightly darker then the hair on her head. "_God she is so beautiful_" He pressed a quick kiss on her mouth before sliding down her body and resting his head right below her womanhood.

"Uh Kakashi, what are you doing? Is this a good idea? You don't have to do thi-ahhh." She was stopped suddenly when he blew air onto the lips surrounding her core.

"Do you trust me?" Kakashi asked with a little trepidation since he wasn't sure he could handle it if she told him she didn't.

"Of course I trust you!"

That was all the answer that the Copy-nin needed as his tongue circled her wet flesh. He heard her cry out and decided to continue. He started out slowly, running his tongue around the outside and savoring the moans and shivers leaving her body.

Sakura couldn't form a coherent thought if you had asked her too so she was thankful, at least, that Kakashi's mouth seemed to be occupied with things other than talking. She could feel something knotting in the bottom of her stomach but she had no idea what the feeling was or where it came from. As it slowly started becoming more and more noticeable she felt like she was drifting out into deep water with no life vest so she grabbed onto the only thing she could which happened to be Kakashi's hair. She held him there as the pressure started growing larger and larger.

Kakashi could feel that her release was close, she was holding onto his hair like it was a lifeline, but he didn't mind. He kept lapping away at the folds of her most intimate parts. When he knew that she had reached her peak and suddenly thrust his tongue inside her and heard her breathless scream as she reached her orgasm.

When Sakura opened her mouth to scream in pleasure no words came out. That was the first time she had ever had an actual orgasm, and it was also the moment that something snapped in her mind and she realized that she wasn't dreaming.

"Oh my GOD!" Sakura didn't know if she should be ashamed at what they had just done, but one thing was certain. She enjoyed it immensely.

"Don't worry, you can call me Kakashi" he said as he smiled to himself. He had taken lovers before, but Kakashi had never been in love before and he had also never performed that act on any other woman. It was just too intimate for a simple one night stand and so he had never indulged, but he could see why so many people enjoyed it. He didn't know if it was that way with other woman, and he didn't care to find out because the only woman he ever wanted to have again was lying in the bed beneath him sporting a blush that put her pink hair to shame.

"So Kakashi, when you kissed me early you said that you would show me how you feel. I think I know what you were trying to show me, but I'm not sure and I don't want to get my hopes up. Could you tell me what exactly you were feeling?" She hoped the desperation in her voice wasn't as obvious as it sounded to her but she was afraid that it was.

"Sakura, I have never loved a woman before. I am a happy bachelor and I don't want to settle down." The disappointment on her face was almost palpable and he noticed she started staring down.

"I get it Kakashi. I know I am damaged goods." She felt like such an idiot, after what Kakashi had seen and heard last night of course he wouldn't want to be with her. She was suppose to be a strong kunoichi but she folded under pressure the minute Sauske showed back up in her life.

"Sakura you didn't let me finish." I have never loved a woman before I met you, I am a happy bachelor who didn't realize how unhappy I really was until you showed me what it meant like to be with you. And I _didn't_ want to settle down. I was content with how my life was before I fell in love with you. It's been a long time coming. You were only my student for a year and it was plain to everyone that you never needed me anyway. I don't when I stopped seeing you as a little girl, but it wasn't long after that that I started truly enjoying, no, _craving_ your company. Since the war ended you occupy all of my thoughts. I didn't realize how far I had fallen until I saw you with Sauske. That nearly killed me to think that I would never get to tell you how I felt. I love you Sakura and I know that it's to much to ask for you to love me back, but if you give me a shot I will spend everyday proving to you that I can be worthy."

She was silent for a moment. She was more startled by his revelation than she would have ever imagined. _"He loves me?"_ She didn't know how to react. She knew she loved him, but was that enough? At sometime she had loved Sauske too and look at what he had done to her... 

"Sakura please say something." Kakashi looked at her, his one dark eye pleading her to validate his feelings.

"Kakashi, I love you too. I think I always have." She sat for a second before continuing. "The only reason that I agreed to have a relationship with Sauske is because I had feeling for you and I thought that there was no way you could ever return them..."  
"Kakashi... I have a question.. do you think we could finish what we started? I am afraid that if I allow myself to wait to long I might never be able to try again and I can't think of a better time than right now after we both shared our feelings. I love you and I want to feel loved. Please make love to me?"

Kakashi didn't have to be told twice and as he sank back on top of her he decided that he would never get tired of hearing her tell him that she loved him.

**A/N: Final chapter coming soon. (more like an epilogue) **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, so here is the last chapter and the epilogue! Hopfully you enjoy it as much as I do and hopefully this story was okay for my first attempt! Thanks for the positive reviews!**

Sasuke was in a decidedly foul mood when he woke the next morning. He quickly checked himself in the mirror and discovered a horrid bruise across the entire left side of his face. Had he been in any other line of work the bruise would have startled him, but he had had worse. In fact if he was being completely honest he was lucky he still had a face, Sakura was known all over the world for her inhuman strength and she was more than capable of taking his head of with one blow. _"_Well that wasn't exactly how I planned things." Sasuke decided that the best course of action from here would be to back off the pink haired woman and find another candidate for his plans to restart his clan. "Besides, there is always hope that she got pregnant, in which case I would just have to take the child to be raised Uchiha."

Sakura looked over at the man lying in bed next to her and decided that this was exactly where she wanted to be for the rest of her life, well not _here_ in Sand, but right next to this man. Not quite sure how awkward the journey home would be with Sasuke in tow she shrugged. "_He wont try anything funny around Kakashi"_

Kakashi watched the woman beside her with a million emotions played on her face. "I love you Sakura, I wasn't just saying that to get you in bed...but that was an added bonus" Kakashi's famous eye crinkle took on a whole new persona with his mask removed.

"I love you too, I was just thinking about how I am going to explain all this when we get back. Tsunade is not going to be happy with Sasuke. I'm not sure I want him on our team anymore, but I don't want him to be banished when he finally came home."

"You are so sweet, but listen, Sasuke hurt you in a way that is unacceptable and you can't just let him get away with it." Kakashi prayed that Sasuke would just up and leave again. Sakura wasn't the only one who had been heartbroken when he left the first time, but unlike Sakura, Kakashi knew that some evils didn't just go away when you wanted them too and he was afraid that after last night Sasuke was that kind of evil.

"I know, but he is so broken and I just can't take away the only place that has ever really been his home, and think of what it would do to Naruto. I think I will just give Tsunade the PG version of what happened with him." Sakura shifted uncomfortably under Kakashi's gaze. He was not pleased with her answer and she knew it, but she couldn't bring herself to be one of the people that turned their back on Sasuke no matter what he had done.

Kakashi simply grunted in reply. "_The minute he tries to touch you Sakura and I will deal with it, that's a promise."_ he gathered up his belongings and turned to her. "You go find Sai and tell him we are heading out in one hour, I will find Sasuke and tell him the same. I want to be back in the village in 3 days max."

"Alright sounds good." Sakura turned to go find Sai, but suddenly turned back to the man she loved and placed a gentle kiss on his masked cheek. "I love you Kakashi, so much" Without another word she was gone.

Kakashi stood there like an idiot cupping the side of his face where her lips had just been. "_I am a lucky bastard", _he thought before hurrying off to finish his task and head to the gate.

_

3 days later the four shinobi walked through the gates of their home and the relief was visible on all of their faces, including Sai who so recently couldn't show any emotion. Spending time with team seven had changed him in so many ways, small emotions could now be easily read on his pale face, and relief to be away from the tension that was between his three teammates was definitely there.

Kakashi took this moment to turn to his team. "Sai, you are dismissed. Sakura and Sasuke you are to report to the Hokage to give an incident report"

The three ninja waited outside of the Hokages office until they were called in. Shizune came out and told them that the Hokage would see them now so they all shuffled into the office, none of them were excited as they stepped into the office and realized that for once, their Hokage was stone cold sober. Not a good sign.

"So, Kakashi tells me there was an 'incident' while this mission was being completed, care to explain Sakura?" Tsunade had received a letter sent by Kakashi 3 days previous explaining the gist of what happened, but she wanted to hear it from Sakura.

Sakura gulped and stood up, "Well Tsunade-sama, what happened was that the relationship between Sasuke and myself got out of hand. Mistakes were made and Sasuke and I ended up having sex. That relationship has since ended considering the circumstances behind the sex." She hoped that would be good enough and she wouldn't have to go into further details. She could feel Sasuke visably stiffen behind her.

Tusnade sat quietly for a second. "I see. Normally the person being accused of such crimes is banished from the village for the remainder of their lives." Sasuke blanched at this and Tsunade almost felt bad for him. _Almost._ "In order for a trial to be put into motion Sakura will need to decide if she would like to press formal charges.

For the first time in her life she knew that she had complete control over Sasuke Uchiha and she found that instead of making her happy it just made her sick to her stomach. "I.. I don't want to press charges Hokage-sama..." Sakura couldn't hold her head up afraid that Kakashi would look at her with shame in his eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see the last thing she ever expected.

"Thank you Sakura. I understand what that means for you and I'm sorry for what it's worth." Sasuke dropped his hand when he saw the look he was receiving from the silver haired man beside her.

"I see. Well Sauske Uchiha I am hereby removing you from team seven. You had asked before about joining Anbu and I suggest putting in your application sooner rather than later. You will never be allowed to take missions with Sakura again or any other woman for that matter so Anbu solo missions are really your only choice." She sent her student, the woman she considered her daughter, a reassuring smile. Before adding, "Oh and Sasuke, if you ever try to harm her again you wont get another chance at redemption. That's a promise."

"Yes Hokage-sama." Sasuke turned and left the room. _"Stupid fucking bitch! What gives her the right to talk to me like that! She might be the Hokage, but I am the last of the Uchiha and we are nobodys playthings..." _Sasuke stewed for a bit on his angry thoughts before heading to the Anbu headquarters. He knew it would only be a matter of weeks before he was accepted so he would just have to keep his head down until then. _"I think I am overdue for a good long mission abroad."_

"Hokage-sama I have a question for you. As you know Sakura's father passed away several years ago so she has no one to speak for her... I would like your permission to marry her."

Both Sakura and Tsunade gasped at the words. "Kakashi you dog, you haven't even asked her have you?"

Kakashi chuckled to himself. He really had just decided to ask a few minutes ago. He knew that he wanted to spend his life with her but he hadn't known how much until he heard her stand up for the slime-ball that didn't deserve to lick her shoes. In that moment he decided that he would never be able to live without her and if that meant putting a ring on her finger then so be it.

Sakura stared at the man beside her and tears started to stream down her cheeks. _"He really loves me. If I had any doubts before I have none now. He wants to marry me!". _

"Well Sakura, what do you think?" Tsunade waited while the girl composed herself enough to speak.

Never turning her gaze from the man before her she spoke. "Nothing, and I mean nothing, would make me happier." Then she smiled a small smile before rushing to Kakashi with her arms out.

Tsunade laughed out loud at the silly display before her. "Well then as your Hokage I give permission for this union... and as Sakura's surrogate parents I give you my blessing!" She wasn't even sure that the couple heard her since their faces were attached to one another. "Sakura let him breath for goodness sakes!" seeing that this was not going to be over anytime soon Tsunade silently crept from the room to give the couple some privacy. _"Now for some Sake to celebrate!".  
_

**_3 weeks later_**

Sakura had never been more tired in her life. She knew that planning a last minute wedding would wear her out but she hadn't expected to be moved to tears when she finally was allowed to go to bed._ "Probably all of this stress. Weddings are not so fun when you are the one doing all of the planning."_ She was so glad that the big day was only a day away. She was not only ready to be done with the stressful planning, but she hadn't seen Kakashi in almost a week since he had been sent out on a mission. "God I miss that man..."

"Who's ass am I going to have to kick now?" Kakashi strolled into the room carrying a small box in one hand and a bouquet of calla lilies in the other. He handed the flowers over to her quickly before bending down in front of where she sat on the couch.

"Oh these are beautiful Kakashi!...uh, what are you doing?" Sakura was confused as to why he was kneeling in front of her but his intentions became apparent as soon as he started to speak.

"Sakura I know that I went about asking you all wrong, but I wanted you to know how much you mean to me." He handed her the little black box and nodded for her to open it.

Sakura took her time and slowly opened the lid. Inside the box was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.

"I know it's just a plain band, but I figure that in our line of work that was safer than getting something with a diamond on it..." Kakashi had been nervous about picking out the small ring. He knew that Sakura liked pretty things so he was afraid that the simple ring wouldn't live up to her expectations.

Sakura stared at the ring. On the outside of the band little leaves danced around the bands length. She looked at the band closer and on the inside she noticed an inscription. **_Forever and always, Kakashi_**. Sakura thought that she had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. She handed it over to Kakashi and held her hand out to him so he could place it on her finger.

"So you like it? If not we could always go back and you could pick out your own?" He knew he was rambling but he couldn't help his nervousness. A part of him needed the reassurance that he hadn't made an ass of himself.

"Kakashi it is perfect. I love you." She smiled at him softly, pulling down his mask while her gaze never left his. "Now, lets get married."

The next morning was not exactly what you would call a good omen for her wedding day. The minute she got out of bed she felt that she was going to be sick. She barely made it to the bathroom before she lost her stomach. Hoping that her friend was around because she might need some help.

Ino had gone to make breakfast for her best friend. Sakura had asked if she could stay over last night so she could have some extra sleep before her wedding, and she thought that a night away from Kakashi would make their wedding night more special. She thought she heard a noise coming from her bedroom and hurried to investigate just in time to see her very best friend hunched over the toilet puking her guts out. "Yuck Forehead. What did you eat yesterday?"

"Oh thank god Ino. A glass of water please..." Sakura sat and waited for her friend to return. She thanked the blonde softly and sat on the edge of the tub drinking down the water.

"Jesus Sakura, what was all that about, and don't tell me nervousness because you are a shinobi and you deal with stress everyday." Ino sat there and a thought crossed her mind "Hey Sakura when's the last time you had your period?"

"Um, about two weeks before I went on my mission why?" Sakura was to tired to think straight or she would have known right away what was wrong with that.

"Uhhhh sweetheart that was almost 6 weeks ago. You're late." Ino jumped up and went to the medicine cabinet to find what she was searching for. She finally located the white box and turned to give it to Sakura.

Sakura stared at the box for a moment before it dawned on her what it was. "Ino this is a pregnancy test... OH SHIT!" Sakura felt her heart stop for a second before she looked up at her friend. "Oh my god, what if I am pregnant?!"

"Well Forehead, that's why you are going to pee on this stick." She waited anxiously as her friend completeled her task. She only turned around long enough for Sakura to pee on the little white stick. "Okay, now we wait for three minutes. Sakura, what if you are pregnant?"  
"Ino I would be so happy! I know it wouldn't be planned but a baby is the biggest blessing in the world!.. wait a minute, why do you have pregnancy test just sitting in your bathroom?" Sakura was curious to know as she stared at her blonde friend.

"Oh those? Choji and I decided that we wanted to start trying for a baby. You better not beat me too it Forehead!"

"That's great news Pig!" Sakura couldn't help but smile at her friends teasing tone. When the three minutes were up she looked that the back of the toilet where the white stick sat. Careful not to drop it she peered at the stick. To little blue lines told her that she was indeed pregnant. She audibly gulped before turning to her best friend. "...it's positive."

_

Sakura stood before the crowd of people gathered to watch her and Kakashi marry. Naruto, who had recently become Hokage, presided over the ceremony and he kept pausing while speaking to cry about two of his best friends getting married. Sakura even had to smack the back of his head at one point to get him to continue which made the crowd laugh in surprise. He might be the Hokage now, but he was still a knucklehead, and still her best friend. As the ceremony started to draw to a close Sakura leaned over to whisper in Kakashi's ear. "Kakashi... I'm pregnant." Smiling as she waited for the news to sink in.

Naruto who was just about to declare them husband and wife stopped suddenly. "HEY GUYS! SAKURA IS PREGNANT!" he beamed down at them.

The crowd clapped at the news and everyone looked genuinely happy for the couple. Kakashi stared down at the belly of the woman who was almost his wife. He wasn't even aware that he wanted to be a father, but in that moment nothing felt more right.

"You may now kiss!" Naruto held his hands out and waited for his two friends to make their union official, what happened next surprised the Hokage so much he nearly doubled over with happy laughter.

Kakashi didn't give it a second thought. As soon as he had the okay for the kiss he dropped to his knees, grabbed his new wife by the hips and pressed a firm kiss on her belly.

Sakura burst into tears at that moment and didn't care who saw her. She had never been more happy than in that moment. Her mind drifted for a moment to the raven haired Uchiha who had been sent on a long distance mission a few days ago and wasn't expected back for at least six months, possibly 12. She hoped he would be happy someday, but she doubted anyone could be as happy as she was.

Kakashi slowly stood up, barely registering the tremendous applause that his actions had caused. He had only one thought on his mind. His family.

_

**Prologue **

**8 months later**

Sakura had never been more tired in her life than she was right now. She had been in labor for almost two whole days and it was starting to take it's toll. Finally the time came to push and she was giving it everything she had. Kakashi was right beside her helping her the whole way. Her heart swelled with love for the man who was so patient throughout her labor. Never sleeping since he had declared that he would not leave her side. She loved that man so much.

Kakashi could not believe that Sakura was still conscience let alone able to push. He wondered breifly at the idiot who had declared woman the weaker sex before returning his attention to his wife. "You can do this sweetie." He didn't know what else to say, but her smile told him that this was good enough.

Several minutes later the tension was broken ans Tsunade wrapped the little bundle of joy in her arms. "It's a boy, congratulations!" She slowly placed the bundle into the outstretched arms of the woman who she loved as her own daughter.

"Look Kakashi, he has my pink hair!" She giggled and tousled his hair a bit. "What should we name him Kakashi?"

Kakashi looked at the sweet boy for a moment, thinking about what he should name his son. What he saw the next second made his heart stop. "...Sasuke"

Sakura looked at her husband confused for a moment. "Why would you want to name him that Kakashi?"

"No Sakura look." He pointed to the baby who had opened his eyes for the first time. Sakura looked slowly from her husband down to her son who was staring at her intently. That's when she noticed something that would change her life. She noticed her son's eyes. **They were red.**

Fin! Hopefully you liked it. Please read and review! 


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